Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Great Falls set to begin classes at end of July
The Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Great Falls is set to begin classes at the end of July.
The new medical school will have orientation on the week of July 24 and courses start on July 31, Dean Dr. Elizabeth Palmarozzi told the Tribune.
Touro is on track to enroll its targeted number of 125 students for its inaugural year, according to Palmarozzi.
“I am very pleased with the quality of the applicants and those who have been selected,” Palmarozzi said in an email.
The college will have a faculty of around 60 first this year and has additional appointments slated for 2024. The 100,000 square-foot building is located at 2801 18th Ave. South, across the street from Great Falls Central Catholic High School.
“We have two large classrooms and an auditorium plus a simulation training center, standardized patient training center and an anatomy lab complete with plastinated models and a cyber division, Palmarozzi said.
Touro broke ground on the Great Falls campus in October of 2021 and received pre-accreditation status in September of last year to begin enrolling students. The college is partnered with several area medical outfits, including Benefis Health System.
Touro reached an agreement this year with Great Falls’ University of Providence, in which undergrad students who earn a biology degree with a concentration in health professions are guaranteed an admissions interview with Touro if GPA requirements are met, UP announced in February.
Palmarozzi said Touro is committed to giving back to Great Falls and the surrounding areas.
“Our students plan to contribute as volunteers to multiple community events as well as increase the number of physicians serving the people of (Montana) upon graduation,” Palmarozzi said.
Construction began last summer for the adjacent Aurora Apartments, which will serve as priority housing for students attending Touro.
The Great Falls campus is Touro’s third school of osteopathic medicine, with locations in New York City and Middletown, New York.
Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) are licensed physicians that practice in all medical specialties as a Medical Doctor (MD) from a traditional medical school, but “apply a unique patient-centered approach to the full spectrum of care,” according to the American Osteopathic Association.
“From their first days of medical school, DOs are trained to look beyond your symptoms to understand how lifestyle and environmental factors impact your well-being,” the AOA website states. “They practice medicine according to the latest science and technology, but also consider options to complement pharmaceuticals and surgery.”
Touro College was established in 1970 to focus on higher education for the Jewish community in New York City, according to its website. It now has 19,000 students at 35 schools in four countries with programs in health sciences, technology, law, liberal arts, Jewish studies and education.
The first two years of Touro’s osteopath program are in pre-clinical education with a “flipped classroom” model, in which students engage with pre-recorded lectures and assigned readings around their schedules. In-person classroom sessions feature discussions from the assigned material, lab exercises and practical exams and clinical practice training, according to Touro.
Third- and fourth-year students complete clinical education in multiple fields at affiliate hospitals, with rotations including emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and psychiatry, with electives also offered.
Touro also offers a one-year Master of Science Program in Interdisciplinary Studies in Biological and Physical Sciences.
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Touro medical school in Great Falls to begin classes in July
